Warriors beaten by Rhinos

• Match Report as Wigan Warriors fell to defeat against Leeds Rhinos at the DW Stadium.
• Warriors led 14-6 at half-time before Rhinos fought back to claim the two points.
• FT | Wigan Warriors 18-40 Leeds Rhinos. 

Wigan Warriors fell to defeat at the DW Stadium as 12-man Leeds Rhinos came from behind to win.

Report  

Bevan French had the Wigan fans on the edge of their seats in the opening minutes when he almost caught his own dinked kick on the final tackle, however, a handling error halted the attack.

Warriors then went close moments later when Toby King powered his way towards the line, this time a knock on in an attempt to ground the ball kept the score level.

Wigan’s high-intensity start continued as Leeds became ill-disciplined, and after back-to-back drop outs, Warriors took advantage when Joe Shorrocks’ fired a pass out wide to Abbas Miski who dived over in the corner. Harry Smith fantastically added the extras from the touchline after 18 minutes.

The defensive work from Wigan had been equally as impressive in the first 25 minutes, and their efforts were rewarded when French bundled his way over after a powerful solo carry off the back of a scrum. Smith made no mistake in kicking Warriors into a 12-0 lead.

Smith extended the advantage by a further two points after Leeds were penalised for an accidental offside, however, his pass was intercepted by Harry Newman who ran more than half the pitch to dive over. Rhyse Martin added the extras to reduce the score to 14-6.

Leeds were permanently reduced to 12 three minutes before the break when Zane Tetevano was shown red for a late hit on Smith. The England international was replaced by Cade Cust, who came on to make his first appearance since March after recovering from a neck injury.

Smith returned for the restart, however, after repeat set resets five minutes into the half, Tom Holroyd crashed over from close range. Martin kicked the extras to reduce the points difference to two. 

Leeds went ahead minutes later when a high kick from Richie Myler bounced kindly for the visitors who returned the ball to Myler to run in under the posts. The kick was accurate to give Rhinos an 18-14 lead.

With the backing of a vocal home support, Warriors regained their advantage before the hour. Smith’s feint created space in the middle before he picked out the onrushing Iain Thornley who charged over in the corner. The score remained level after Smith’s kick landed short.

The visitors scored a fourth try when Newman intercepted a loose pass before accelerating clear to dive over with 62 minutes on the clock. Martin was accurate once more to make the score 24-18.

Leeds then crossed twice in quick succession to increase their advantage to 34-18 after 70 minutes. First Martin side-stepped his way through a gap to dive over, before Cameron Smith crashed over from close range.

Wigan finished the match with 12-men after French was shown a yellow card with three minutes to go, and Leeds added a final try with seconds to go when Liam Tindall intercepted before diving over. Martin kicked the extras to give Rhinos a 40-18.

Gallery:

Wigan Warriors: Bevan French, Abbas Miski, Toby King, Jake Wardle, Iain Thornley, Joe Shorrocks, Harry Smith, Ethan Havard, Sam Powell, Liam Byrne, Willie Isa, Liam Farrell, Morgan Smithies.

Interchange: Cade Cust, Kai Pearce-Paul, Patrick Mago, Brad O’Neill.

18^th Player: Ryan Hampshire.

Tries: Miski (17′), French (26′), Thornley (58′)

Goals: Smith 3/4

Sin Bin: French (77′)

Leeds Rhinos: Ash Handley, Nene Macdonald, Harry Newman, Rhyse Martin, Liam Tindall, Blake Austin, Richie Myler, Mikolaj Oledzki, Jarrod O’Connor, Sam Lisone, Zane Tetevano, James Bentley, Cameron Smith.

Interchange: James Donaldson, Tom Holroyd, Morgan Gannon, Justin Sangare.

18^th Player: Corey Johnson.

Tries: Newman (35′, 62′), Holroyd (45′), Myler (51′), Martin (67′), Smith (70′), Tindall (79′).

Goals: Martin 6/7

Red Card: Tetevano (38′)

Referee: Liam Moore

Attendance: 12,167